I Don't Want To Be Alone
by The Story Sorceress
Summary: Norman had been told his whole life he was only seeing mind tricks. He knew the spirits were real, but his family had somehow succeeded in making Norman believe the Guardians weren't real. So, how can Norman see Jack Frost still? And what does Pitch want with Norman so much he will even use someone from Norman's past to get him?
1. Chapter 1

I Don't Want To Be Alone

Chapter 1

It had started out as any other day for Norman, he was woken up by his zombie alarm clock, he groggily slipped his feet into his zombie slippers, and he walked over to the bathroom where he brushed his teeth with his zombie toothbrush.

It had been months since he had broken the Witches Curse, and everything was going back to normal. People began treating him as the freak who could see the dead again, acting like he hadn't done anything. The kids at school started calling him names again, and made fun of him.

Alvin pretended to make fun of him and hate him in front of people just to keep up some reputation he thought he had, which really hurt Norman. He had thought that Alvin was beginning to change, and he had… kind of. Alvin would come over some times after school and hang out with Norman and Neil at Neil's house. Though, he really did think that Norman and Neil were his friends, because he told them a secret neither of the boys had expected Alvin to say.

"Norman, I need to tell you two losers something. If I find out either of you told _anyone_ at the school, I will punch your faces in!" Alvin feigned a threat, trying to scare the boys. It didn't work, but they played along. Neil seemed pretty convinced that Alvin was being truthful, but Norman wasn't convinced. He had been through way too much with Alvin to believe the lies he told everyone about his 'fights'.

And that's when Alvin said the most outrageous thing Norman had heard since his Crazy Uncle told him he was chosen to read to the Witch. "Norman, Neil… I saw the Tooth Fairy. I actually _saw_ her! She was whining about how the teeth under my pillow were some other kids! Of course, she was right, but _still_! Everyone said they didn't exist, but they do! I have seen it with my own eyes!"

Norman was baffled. Here he had been all of his life being made fun of for things that people said were only figments of his imagination, and suddenly Alvin sees the Tooth Fairy and he thinks he is gifted? He knew he shouldn't be this upset, but Alvin had picked on Norman his entire school career, and now he was all excited about seeing something that other people don't see. He didn't understand that Norman went through so much more than that daily, and he had to live with the torments of his peers for seeing the Dead. He had to put up with the fact that he could see and hear people who wanted to be heard! They asked him for favors, and he would stop whatever he was doing to help them! He was burdened with that, and he had grown accustomed to being the only one.

"Oh, so now you see something that other people don't see? How does it feel to know you have a _gift_ that if other people knew about you would never be looked at the same? You would be made fun of, bullied, and humiliated your whole life, with your family thinking you were crazy! Alvin, the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist. It was probably just a dream. I would know. I stayed awake multiple times to try to see her. I always stayed up waiting for her, but I never saw her. Now you are for some reason special and can see her?"

Judging by the look on Neil and Alvin's faces, Norman had burst. He didn't normally get so… so angry at things like this, but he couldn't help it. He let a little anger slip, and the rest followed. He was angry because he hated to admit that his family had been successful at one thing. His family had succeeded in making Norman believe that the Guardians didn't exist.

He would get up on Christmas morning and find presents addressed to him _from_ his sister and Courtney. He wouldn't have any little cards saying they were from Santa. During Easter, his Father would strategically place Norman where he could see his Mother hiding the eggs. The Tooth Fairy had been the cruelest one his parents had played. They made him place his tooth under the pillow, and when he woke up the next morning, the tooth was still there.

Apparently the same thing had happened with Neil, which he thought was odd. Neil's parents wanted him to believe in the things he wanted too, so why would they pretend that the Tooth Fairy forgot to pick up their teeth? Norman hated to see the sad look on Neil's face when he had come over to Norman's house with his tooth in hand. He had cried for hours to Norman, only stopping when Norman offered to watch a horror movie and eat some junk food with him.

He didn't want to believe in some made up creature that forgot to pick up their teeth, thoroughly crushing the spirits of people who wanted to believe so badly in the thought of there being a Tooth Fairy, an Easter Bunny, and even a Santa Clause. The night after their teeth had been left, Neil was determined to think that the Tooth Fairy had been to busy to pick up their teeth, so he made Norman put his tooth under the pillow again. Neil's tooth had been gone the next morning, while Norman's was still there under his pillow.

"Yeah, Dude, I have the gift to see her. Don't be mad just because for once someone can see something you can't. You need to understand that you aren't the only one who can see these things anymore. Maybe she only lets people who don't see the dead see her, I mean who would want a freak like you seeing them?" Alvin sounded offended, and Norman didn't fully blame him, but the name-calling was uncalled for.

"Uh—guys…" Neil tried to interject, but Norman cut him off.

"Oh, so I'm a freak again? Maybe you're right, maybe that's why. Maybe she doesn't even remember the freaks of the world, that explains why she forgot to get my tooth last time I lost it, and she got everyone else's! So yeah, congrats Alvin, you can see her. You're a freak now, just like me."

Without even saying goodbye, Norman jumped up and ran out of Neil's house. He kicked the break up from his bike and speedily got on the bike, pedaling as quickly as his legs could. He wanted to get away from the others; he just wanted to be alone. While he was riding home, snow began to fall. Some landed on Norman's hair and hands, but he didn't feel the cold. He only could concentrate on the road, trying to see through the tears that freely streamed from his eyes.

Snow began to cloud his vision as his tears flowed more quickly. He moved one of his hands from one of the handles, rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. He had only had his eyes covered for a couple of seconds; he didn't think anything would cause a danger to him. He heard a loud horn and he screamed as he moved his arm from his eyes.

"_Look out_!" A stranger yelled at him before his bike was reered away from the vehicle that was about to run into him. He looked down, seeing a thing of ice under him. How had that suddenly gotten there? He felt something hit the back of his head; he ignored it. He wasn't in the mood to play snowball fight. Plus, he would only be ganged up on and attacked with continuous snowballs until the bullies were bored of hitting the freak. He wanted them to suffer, but he wouldn't act on his feelings, he wouldn't become one of them.

He had promised Aggie he wouldn't. He had shown her that what she was doing was wrong, and he had promised he wouldn't do anything like that to anyone, because he was the one who had brought her out of it. She didn't want him to become just like she had. God, he missed Aggie. He had known her for such a short time, but he had felt a connection between them. She was just like him; they both knew how it felt to be ostracized and to be thought of as a freak because they could do something extraordinary that others couldn't. He thought of her as a sister, and he didn't want to let her down.

But those damn bullies knew where to hit him so it hurt. They would taunt him, they would make fun of him—of _Aggie_! They didn't even know her, but they said things that weren't true just to make him angry. They wanted him to fight back so they could say they were protecting themselves from the kid who could see the Dead. The Spirits he passed could tell his mood, so they stood clear of him. At least, he thought that at first, but after even the annoying ones who didn't care if Norman was pissed beyond belief avoided him he knew something was up. Then another snowball hit him. He was at his house so he made a quick turn into the driveway, and kicked his brake down. He swung his leg over the bike just as another snowball hit him.

He grabbed a thing of snow, balling it into his hands. He turned around and saw a boy with snow-white hair and pale skin. He wore a hoodie with what looked like frost on the collar. He was barefoot, which threw Norman off. He wasn't a spirit, so why was he following Norman? Did he want to bully the outcast too? Well, Norman wasn't in the mood to listen to anything, especially from a stranger. He threw the snowball at the boy, seeing the shocked expression that resulted from the impact. "Leave me alone! I don't want to hear another joke about the kid who can see ghosts! Why don't you stop? You make fun of people who don't deserve it, just because I'm different doesn't mean I'm a freak! I am just like you, so why should I be treated different? I want to be treated like everyone else, but it's hard to be normal when even your family thinks you are crazy! Did Alvin send you to hurt me because I got mad because he saw the Tooth Fairy, and I didn't even get a visit from her last time I lost a tooth? Well, you can tell him you beat me up. You can make up a story. He'll believe it. Just, leave me alone. Please."

With that, Norman turned and ran into the house, leaving the shocked Winter Spirit speechless.


	2. Chapter 2

I Don't Want To Be Alone

_**Chapter 2**_

Jack had been throwing snowballs at him when he had been biking so he could get his attention, he had his eyes covered and there was a car coming! He had to do something; he didn't want the kid to die! Plus, Jack didn't want a newcomer of Blithe Hollow to have to remember almost getting hit by a car as a first experience. He couldn't have lived here long, after all the Guardians had gotten all the teeth from Blithe Hollow the night Pitch had tried to make the kids stop believing in the Tooth Fairy due to kids waking up with their teeth still under their pillows when they woke up.

Plus, the kid probably couldn't see him. No one could see him, he had only met one believer and he was in Burgess. Jamie Bennett had been the first one to see him in over 300 years, and he had got the kids in his town to believe in all of the Guardians, which included Jack Frost. There was something different about this kid though, he didn't know what but he could tell he wasn't like the other kids of Blithe Hollow.

When he had stopped, thrown a snowball back at him, and began yelling at him, Jack had been truly shocked. The kid could see him, but he was angry. He was yelling about how Jack shouldn't be bullying him because he was a freak? He didn't seem like a freak at all. He told him to tell Alvin that he was sorry for yelling at him because he—what? No, that wasn't possible! The Guardians had made sure to get every tooth! They couldn't have missed one! Tooth had told them to check and make sure they got every kid, and they had missed a kid named Neil, but they thought they got everyone. He couldn't believe they actually forgot to get a tooth from a child, they had a job to do and they failed it.

So how could the kid see him if he didn't believe? He must believe a bit to be able to see him! He needed to get to the bottom of this, he could tell just by the look in the kid's eyes that he was in pain. His words seeped loneliness, Jack had lived for 300 years by himself so he knew when people were lonely. When he had been yelling at him, Jack recognized him as a boy who he saw every winter. He was always alone, and he seemed happy being alone. Last winter, he had seen the boy with Neil. He had thought maybe they were friends. He seemed to actually smile and have fun with Neil, so why did he now seem so miserable?

Jack shook his head, leaning on his staff while he tried to think of something to do. The kid thought he was some bully, so he couldn't go throwing a snowball at his window. He would have to do this difficult way. He flew up to the kid's bedroom window, seeing that he was sitting on his bed, playing with zombie action figures. He used his staff to knock on his window, the other reason being as the bringer of winter he needed to add frost to windows, it was part of the job. He knocked again, this time using his knuckles, but the boy was obviously ignoring him. Jack rolled his eyes, _why was he being so difficult?_

The kid looked up at the window, his eyes wide. Oh, now it hit him that someone was outside his second story window. Hadn't that been the first thought, or do people normally do this? The kid walked over to the window and opened it; he looked scared. Jack wasn't scary, was he? No one else acted frightened when they saw him, and the kid had said that he could see ghosts, so why was Jack such a surprise to see?

"How… How are you up here? You didn't climb the tree or I would have heard it…" He stepped back a bit from the window, grabbing something that looked like a Nerf gun. Did he think that would do anything to—

The boy pulled the trigger and water shot out at Jack, but as soon as it made contact with him it froze, falling to the ground and shattering. The boy looked shocked, which made Jack smirk. He deserved that seeing as he did try to attack him, even if the attack was just a water gun. It actually made Jack chuckle when the boy set the water gun on the ground.

"You froze the water! Or something… how did you do that? Who are you?" The boy moved back, sitting on his bed. Jack could tell that he was trying to sound brave, but he was still shaking. Whatever had happened before really must have shaken him up, because he truly didn't seem like he would normally be such a bad kid. He figured he should start answering his questions before he began to yell.

"I did freeze the water. The name's Jack Frost, who are you?" He decided to not even try to explain how he froze the water because even he couldn't really explain it to himself; all he knew was that he could do it. It just came with being the Winter Spirit. The kid picked up the zombie action figures and began moving them around, not looking at Jack.

"I'm Norman. I'm sorry about yelling at you, I had thought that—well let's just say I thought you were someone who I really don't like being anywhere near. I thought you were one of those people who always push me around and make fun of me. Wait—you can't be Jack Frost. Jack Frost doesn't exist, none of those things do." Jack could see the conflict going on behind his eyes. He didn't want to believe in Jack Frost, so how could he see him? This was insane; no one could see him without believing, so how come Norman can see him?

Norman cleared his throat and Jack looked away, he had gotten lost in thought while staring at Norman. It was just so odd for someone to see him. North had told him that only people who believe can see the Guardians, and Norman seemed to not believe. He hated to know that the Guardians had actually been the cause of that: Tooth wouldn't forgive herself once she finds out. He knew he needed to show Norman that the Guardians did exist, though he was positive Tooth would probably show Norman herself she was real once she found out the mistake they had made. He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned on his staff. He hated the feeling of letting someone down. He opened his mouth to speak when the door flew open and in walked a blonde girl with really tight and revealing pink work out clothes followed by an older looking man and woman Jack could only guess were Norman's parents. The teenage girl looked around the room, shivering. She noticed the open window and made an annoyed noise before stomping over and slamming Norman's window closed.

"Norman, you loser! You yell at the two people who actually somehow want to be your friends? Do you want to be a friendless loser again like you used to be?" The girl's words made Jack's anger rise. No one should talk like that to someone like Norman! He did nothing wrong from what he could tell, even if he did Jack was positive that he didn't deserve to have such harsh words directed toward him. Hopefully Norman's parents would stand up for him. He stared at them, waiting for them to yell at the annoying blonde girl… but they didn't. They only looked down in anger at Norman. What did he do for them to be so angry toward him?

"Norman," The man began obviously trying to hold down anger, "We're worried about you. We know you can see ghosts, but you shouldn't yell at people! They didn't deserve to be called freaks! They aren't freaks! You should know, Norman, that they aren't freaks. Being one—"

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. He flew down so he was standing in front of him. He crouched down to Norman's eyelevel, "Are you just going to let them say these things to you? You shouldn't deal with this, they are being rude to you! What they are saying isn't what family should be saying! Especially your Dad! No father should ever call their son a freak!"

Norman tried to not make eye contact with Jack, but he kept moving to where his line of sight was. He wasn't going to let Norman ignore him, he would take matters into his own hands if he had too. He lifted the staff when Norman spoke to him.

"Jack Frost, you don't know anything! I am a freak, and my Dad's right!" He saw the shocked looks his family had when Norman spoke his name. Why did they seem so surprised for a child to say a name of someone who they believe in?

Norman's mother walked up to him, phasing right through Jack who had landed near to where Norman stood. She crouched down, putting a hand on his shoulder. She made him look into her eyes. She put on a smile, but Jack knew she was hiding other emotions behind it. He hated seeing this; Norman didn't deserve to think he was a freak just because of his abilities! He should be celebrated for his gift, not treated like he was the bringer of the plague!

"Norman, you're to old to believe in Jack Frost. Haven't we showed you that none of those fairytales exist?" Norman looked at the ground not even daring to look at Jack Frost right now.

"Mom, I don't believe in him, but I can see him. You all showed me enough evidence to know that I am not allowed to have any childhood happiness. You want me to grow up so fast, yet you get mad when I act like an adult! Why can't I make my own decisions? I saved—" Norman sighed, seeing that his family wasn't buying it. He shrugged his mom's hand off his shoulder and walked over to his bed, moving so he was sitting on it. His mom moved forward as if she was going to go talk to him when his father put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. All three of his family members silently left his room, closing the door. Jack flew up to Norman's ceiling, seeing the pain Norman had emanating off of him. He looked over at his staff, a smile came to his lips. He made snowflakes form at his ceiling, and flew down so he was standing in front of Norman.

"Hey, Norman, don't listen to them. I am here and I am real. If I'm not real then how is it snowing in your room?" Jack had to try to make the boy smile. It truly hurt him to see someone so young have to deal with such a terrible family. Norman looked up as the snow began to fall. Some landed on his nose as he fell back on his bed. Norman took in an exasperated breath, trying to find an explanation other than that Jack Frost was really here. Norman couldn't so he only stayed silent as the snow kept falling. Jack wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say. He had only just met the kid, and he already knew such personal family matters. He would have to talk to North and the other Guardians about this. Sandy would have to know more about Norman; he would ask him later.

"Kid, I'm sorry. It wasn't the Tooth Fairies fault. The other Guardians and I had offered to help Tooth collect all the teeth, and we must have missed you. I am so sorry, I can't tell you that enough. I can talk to North and see if we can do something to—"

Norman sat up, locking gazes with Jack. "You are real. You are actually Jack Frost, and you tell me that you had a mission get the teeth and you forgot mine? How could you forget someone's tooth? Plus, where were Santa's gifts on Christmas? Why didn't the Easter Bunny hide the eggs while my parents did it? Jack, I believe that you are here, but you can't make me believe in something that is just a story for little kids to be good during the year, and to make kids have a false hope in there being mythical creatures like that. If you are being truthful and the Guardians do exist, then you can easily get an answer from all of them."

Jack was confused by Norman's last sentence. He was going to give him a thing of questions to ask the Guardians? How would that help show their existence? Jack wasn't deterred though; he was going to make sure Norman believed in them. He watched as Norman walked over to his desk that was near the window and Jack's eyes widened as black sand seemed to ghost by Norman's window. Norman shivered, having noticed the black sand as well. He backed up from the desk, running to behind the bed. Jack flew next to him, resting a cold hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be afraid of it, Norman. No matter what it tries to make you see, don't be afraid. That only strengthens it. Don't let it beat you." Jack stared at the window with a hard glare; the sand had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Norman had a piece of paper in his hand and he had been scribbling away at it, trying to not think of the black sand. He thrust the paper at Jack, which Jack took from him.

He read over the questions, and his eyes widened. These questions were complex! Hopefully the Guardians remembered Norman well enough to answer these, or Jack wouldn't be able to get Norman to ever believe.

_If you want me to believe in you, you need to answer all of these questions correctly. If you even try to fake an answer I will be able to tell._

_Question 1) What was the first Christmas present I got before my parents began putting their names on the presents?_

_Question 2) What did you give Courtney for the last three years that she thinks I gave her as a prank?_

_Question 3) Where do you usually hide the eggs that seems impossible for any of the family to reach?_

_Question 4) How old was I when you left an egg for me in my room because everyone took my eggs?_

_Question 5) What was my first tooth that I lost?_

_Question 6) Which tooth did Alvin take from me and try to hide under his pillow?_

_Question 7) What tooth did you all forget to pick up when you all went to help pick up the teeth?_

_Question 8) Why did you all forget about me when you picked up everyone else's teeth? Am I so much of a freak that the great Guardians don't want to remember I exist?_


	3. Chapter 3

**I Don't Want To Be Alone**

**Chapter 3**

"What do you mean we missed someone's tooth that night? That's impossible!" The Tooth Fairy shook her head, trying to figure out why Jack would say something like that. They couldn't have missed any teeth, she would have known immediately if they had. Every child in Blithe Hollow had their teeth taken and had a reward under their pillow. Baby Tooth flew over to her, shaking her little head. Baby Tooth also thought Jack was telling a little fib. He was one who loved to prank the Guardians after all, but this prank was cruel.

He sighed, digging in his jacket pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. Tooth flew over and took it from him, opening it quickly but made sure she didn't rip the fragile paper in her fervor. The paper had a child's handwriting on it, and it was neat enough so she could read it. She read all the questions, getting to the last three. She dropped the paper; her hands were trembling. She knew who had written the note: Norman Babcock. Her feet touched the floor right before she fell to her knees. They had forgotten a child's tooth… they had forgotten _Norman's_ tooth. Bunny was by her side right as she had fallen to the ground. He had picked up the note, reading over it a couple of times. His ears flopped forward when he finished reading it and it hit him what they all had done.

"We… forgot to pick up a child's tooth… How could we have missed someone? How could we have missed _Norman_ of all people? He had been trying to find a little string to believe in us, even though his parents didn't want him to believe. We let him down…" Jack sighed, taking the paper back from Tooth. He didn't know what to say to her, or any of them in fact. He reread the questions, looking over at North. He and Sandy were the only two Guardians who didn't try to read the note. Jack's brows furrowed.

"North, you know the Babcock's. You knew what they were doing to the presents, yet you didn't try to stop them? I know you would know if a kid's parents were switching your name and adding theirs. Why wouldn't you—" Jack could see the despair emanating from the usually jolly Guardian. So he really had known. North squeezed the bridge of his nose, trying to figure out what to say to the Guardians. Sandy was floating next to him, already having known the severity the boy faced on a daily basis due to his dreams. He flew over to the Tooth Fairy and patting her shoulder comfortingly.

"We let a kid down, yet he can still see us! We have a chance to make him believe in us again, but we need to answer these questions. He deserves to be happy, I witnessed the pain his family causes him first hand. They are terrible; they think he is a freak. They even called him a freak! I'll be damned if I let a kid be miserable for their whole life! Tooth, Bunny, Sandy… North, we need to show him we exist. He can already see us because of some—gift that he has. We need to use that to our advantage! All we need to do is—" Jack was cut off by the Russian Santa.

"Jack, we already failed him by missing his tooth. He can see us, but that does not mean he will believe in us again. His family will do anything to make him think nothing in the world is good. I have met him before one Christmas Eve. He had stayed up to actually see the famous Santa, and all he wanted for Christmas was for his family to accept him. He actually sent me a list saying that all he wanted was to be accepted by his family and to have one friend. I had promised him that the Guardians would make sure that he was watched over. All of us went an extra effort to make sure we always showed we existed. Bunny by putting Easter Eggs in his room when the other kids took his own, and Christmas I always left him presents near his door. What more can we do now that we let him down?"

Jack had never seen North like this before. He looked like he was giving up. That wasn't what he needed to do; he needed to lead all of them to watch out for Norman. He /had/ too! He looked over at Tooth who only looked back at him with a woeful stare. Bunny wouldn't even look at him. Sandy flew over to him and took the list from his hands as symbols appeared over his head indicating he was trying to tell them all something. The symbols were appearing and disappearing so quickly, Jack couldn't keep up. Sandy looked back at him with a bright grin but was only greeted with a confused expression.

"He wants us to answer the questions, but that's impossible. The last question isn't possible to answer, Jack. Norman doesn't want to believe in us. It's hopeless." Tooth's words were filled with despair. Were they all giving up on this? They were Guardians, and a Guardian was to protect the children. If they gave up on Norman this quickly Jack didn't know if he wanted to be called a Guardian.

"The eggs that seem impossible for his family to reach are in his room next to his zombie action figures. I always paint Norman's to look like they are part of the zombie thing so his family won't notice, and the one only Norman can reach is behind the television. And- And the first place I hid them when bullies took his eggs was on his pillow and next to his alarm clock. He was seven years old when I first did that." Without Jack noticing, Bunny had made his way over next to him to look at the list. Jack grinned, knowing Tooth's words had inspired Bunny to help. Bunny was the Guardian of Hope after all, Jack knew that Bunny would make sure Norman's list wasn't hopeless.

"The present he got before his parents began putting their names was his zombie alarm clock. The only thing his sister ever gets is coal because she is very high on naughty list, and she always blames Norman. That is answers to his questions, now all we need is Tooth's answers." Santa made his way over to Jack and the others as he answered the questions. Jack had to hold back his enthusiasm or he would have the whole room covered in snow. All eyes went over to Tooth who was still crouched on the ground. She looked back at the other Guardians with that sorrowful gaze.

"I-I just can't, Jack. I can't answer his questions then tell him that we actually forgot him. I want to be believed in, but I don't want a child's belief to be with the price of heartbreak. I wouldn't know how to make it up to him." Tooth's voice was weak.

Jack walked over to Tooth and crouched next to her, a soft smile adorned his face. He understood why she didn't want to answer the questions, but he knew that deep down she was aching to tell them the answers. He even knew she had an idea for how to answer the last question; all he needed to do was get her to tell him. Instead of talking to her he only handed her the list. She hesitantly took it and stared at the questions that were addressed to her.

"The first tooth he ever lost was bottom right canine. I remember because he hadn't flossed yet he put a string of floss under his pillow as if it were a present for me. The tooth that bully took from him was one of his front teeth." Tooth went silent staring at the last two questions. She shook her head slightly as if she had found a mistake, "I can't tell him what tooth we forgot. I can only guess, seeing as I hadn't gotten it right away. No, I seem to remember—"

Tooth put a hand to her mouth as she gasped loudly. Her wings flapped in shock as she shot up and flew over to North. "We need to go see him. I remember the tooth was his last top canine. I had seen it that night, but I had thought I saw one of you guys going to get it. I left it because I thought one of you had been there. We did forget his tooth. I should have gotten it! We all need to apologize! That way all of us can show him we are real, and show Norman that Jack didn't make these answers up!"

Jack nodded his head, walking back over to the Guardians. He had been right it seems that Tooth did indeed have a plan. The image of the black sand outside Norman's window shot through his mind as he frowned. Why had there been black sand? They had already defeated Pitch, but there was something about Blithe Hollow that just screamed fear and nightmares.

"Guys, we need to check out the town as well. There was black sand outside Norman's window, and the way Norman jumped away from it made it seem like he has seen it before. We need to go right now or we'll miss him."

* * *

**Hello everyone, The Story Sorceress here.**

**I'm sorry this took so long, I got grounded and I had to worry about studying for exams so I left this chapter unfinished for a couple weeks. Of course when I got back and read it I had no idea what to finish with, so I just let myself write and promised myself that the next chapter will be better and longer. **

**I have a plan for this story, and the chapters like these are fillers that do lead to the plot. This chapter may seem short and boring, but it had added to the plot, and is helping my story go in the direction I want it too.**

**Thank you all for being so adoring of this story! I am shocked at how many people are following and adding it to their favorites. There is probably many mistakes in the chapter, but I am not worried about that because I just wanted to get this chapter out so I could get to the chapter where Norman gets to see them all.**

**It will be out hopefully by tomorrow morning!**

**I would love it if you reviewed! **

**Thank you all!**


	4. Update Authors Note

Hello everyone!

I know I've been gone, but this was my Sophomore year of high school. It is now done which means I have more time to update.

Please message me with what you would like to see happen, and be prepared for a update real soon.


	5. Chapter 4

**I Don't Want to be Alone**

**Chapter 4**

As the day went on, Norman began to forget what had happened the night before. He hadn't been able to sleep all night; he had been tossing and turning, hearing Jack's words echo through his mind. He fought the sleep, knowing what was to come if he did let himself drift into what was supposed to be a person's escape from reality to a utopia of their own concoction. Of course he was cursed so he wasn't able to ever be in paradise. Not even in his sleep.

Every night it was the same dream. He was in a dark cave with cages. He would see a hooded figure and a man with grey skin. He would hear a voice calling out to him, the voice that he kept in his mind so he would always hear her and know it was her.

Aggie. He heard Aggie in the cave.

She sounded so scared. She would be calling out for him, and he would be calling for her. He would always see her standing next to the grey-skinned man. She was always being held captive and chained so she couldn't get free. Always the hooded man would take out a wooden staff and fire what looked like ice at the grey-skinned man, and Norman would always wake up after hearing Aggie's blood-curdling scream as the ice hit her as the grey-skinned man used her as a shield.

Every morning he would wake up and find black sand on his bed. It terrified him, and he could swear his zombie plushy and his paraphernalia looked almost as scared as he was.

Maybe he would visit the graves of the zombies he had helped break the curse for. Even though they wouldn't be coming back as zombies, he would see their spirits there. They always would sense his presence and would come out of hiding. His grandma said it was because they shared a bond after the night he broke the curse. Norman knew that was one reason, but the other was that they were friends.

Norman sat in the den and turned on the TV, sitting in his normal spot in front of the screen. He knew his grandma was sitting on the couch and knitting, watching him. He could feel the tension in the air, but he didn't want to hear his grandma's opinion on meeting Jack Frost. He knew she had a strong opinion, and he was almost positive he knew what she was going to say. She would tell him that he needed to stop being so cynical and believe in the Guardians like that one boy who always came for vacation every summer would tell him.

The boy—Jamie Bennett—Norman's friend. He could see things that people couldn't see as well. Norman and he would always share stories. His mom and Jamie's mom had been talking and he was going to come visit during Winter Break, which just so happened to have started yesterday. Jamie and his family were getting here later today. He had been texting Jamie, who was excited to tell him more stories of what he has experienced since last summer. Norman's parents were content with the fact that he was hanging out with more people than Neil. Norman was just lucky that the neighbors from next door were gone for Winter and had rented their house to the Bennett family.

But Jamie was staying at Norman's house. Jamie's parents had become Norman's parents. They were more accepting of him, and they had wanted him to come live them for a year to try to get a break from Blithe Hollow. Of course, Norman's parents had declined saying it wouldn't help Norman's 'condition'. Norman hated how his parents treated his gift like it was a disease. None of them understood. They thought just because they had seen the zombies that they knew what it was like to live seeing people who had passed away just standing there or jumping around and acting as if they were still alive, or that people other than Norman could see them.

"If you stare at the TV while zoning out you will become blind." Norman was shaken out of his thoughts by his Grandma's words, "I think you should go and clean your room. Your little friend will be here any minute."

Norman groaned and rolled his eyes before turning the TV off and stomping up to his room, slamming the door behind him. He didn't want his parents or sister to disturb him right now. They thought he was angry that Jamie wasn't here yet, but the real reason was that he was waiting to be disappointed again because there was no way Jack could get the Guardian's to come here and there was no way that they would remember him now and not have remembered his tooth.

He turned around after putting a chair under the doorknob so no one could come in and yelped out seeing five silhouettes in his room. One flew over to him quickly and got right in his face. He yelped again and pressed himself against the wall, eyes wide in fear.

"Norman Babcock, it is you! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean—we didn't—we're real! See? Wings and everything! I have your reward for your tooth." A fairy was floating in front of him and babbling a mile a minute. She held her hand out, holding a dollar out to him. He stared at it then back up at the fairy. No… she wasn't the Tooth Fairy.

"You don't exist. But you're here. I don't believe in you! I haven't in almost a year! I don't believe in you or the Easter Bunny, or Santa, and I definitely never ever would or will believe in Jack Frost!" He ran around her and grabbed his Zombie Nerf Gun, pointing it at each individual as he said their names. He paused before dropping the gun, feeling something move against his hand. He looked down and shrieked, seeing black sand slither down his hand and up his sleeve. A golden man flew over and put some golden dust on his hand, and the black sand turned golden.

Norman looked around the room, his shoulders slumping forward in defeat. "You're not—why are you all here now? You're too late. I won't believe in you. If you wouldn't mind I am expecting my friend over. His name is Jamie, and I don't want to explain to him why I'm talking to thin air. He doesn't believe in the Guardians. Jamie Bennett—"

Norman was cut off by the Tooth Fairy moving the chair away from the door and the door opened and Jamie walked in. He looked over at what Norman knew he would see as nothingness. He closed the door quickly and a beam broke out on his face.

"Jack? Tooth Fairy? Santa? The Easter Bunny? Sandy? What are you all doing here?"

Norman's eyes widened.

_"Wait… you can see them? Jamie, you can see them?!"_

* * *

**_Remember when I said I would update real soon? I meant it. Less than an hour I posted that authors note I made this and am posting it! I'm sorry again the it's taken so long to make a new chapter! I'm now a Junior, and am getting ready to study abroad. I now have a laptop which means I can update much faster!_**

**_Thank you all for the follows, likes, and comments! _**

**_Keep them coming!_**

**_3 The Story Sorceress_**


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